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Being Evil

I have been in search for what feels like a lifetime but is in reality a little over a decade. Way back in the day when Microsoft terrorized the tech world and earned the fear and loathing of most tech folk Google was cute as a puppy and dedicated to doing good…indeed “Don’t be evil” was their informal company motto. Back then there were many heinous things perpetrated by the mad and bad on us humble net citizens. We were subjected to browser capture and constant bombardment from pop ups and spam. Over the years much of this net thuggery has been eliminated in good part because the sources of income online have become centralized and in good part controlled by the major advertiser aggregators Google and Yahoo/Bing. So it was with some festive irony that I read the account of Google’s acolyte in the UK Sarah Hunter defending Google against attacks from British Parliamentarians recently. The line I like the most was “we are not the bogeyman of the Internet”…I don’t often LOL but I did then.

There are arms full of accusations being brought to the stake to which Ms. Hunter has been shackled and several honorable members would clearly like to see her and her fellow Googlers burnt alive. Something which especially annoyed the Brits (who love to pay taxes of all kinds) was the elegant way Google perfectly legally avoided paying over $300 million in taxes. The fact that Eric Schmidt defended that as both legal and praiseworthy “Capitalism” really annoyed some of the left tier members. The Brits fundamentally don’t like red in tooth and claw Capitalism…it’s thought of as rather lower class and worse awfully American to try to make lots filthy lucre. I disagree which is a good part of why I’m writing this from SoCal not South London. Add to that the accusations that Google is skewing their results in favor of their own listings and is over all monopolistic and all around beastly, it’s been a tough week for Google in the UK.

Sticks and stones may indeed break bones but serious fines can hurt, so whilst the name calling for being a little evil around the edges may be smart there is a danger that if Google doesn’t get right with the EU (much worse than just the Brits as there are angry Germans involved and you know how that can go) and come to some kind of rapprochement to settle the two years of investigation by stinking foreigners which Google has recently been enjoying things could turn nasty. If the EU goes after them and wins the standard fine is 10% of revenue off the top…a mere $4Bn. That may sound a bit farfetched but it’s the same threat Microsoft faced back when they were public enemy #1 and they settled with the cheese and sausage eaters. It appears the price of evil has gone up.

About Tim Judd

Hello, My name is Tim Judd. In short I’m a serial entrepreneur with a focus on search, and President and CEO of Search Initiatives and eLocal Listing. You can follow me on Google+, Twitter, and of course... thinkjudd.com.